By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Recreational and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages are in for a fun treat this Saturday with a remote control airplane show on the Bonnet Carre Spillway.
The event is a tribute to the veterans in general, but particularly the residents of the Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Reserve. Civilians are welcome as well.
Skip Jacob, a retired military veteran and park ranger for the Corps of Engineers is also the master of ceremonies for the show. Jacob said the ceremony will open up with a salute by the Marine Corps League Color Guard, Attachment 519, and a live rendition of the national anthem by Courtney Boe of the WWII Museum’s Victory Belles. St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. will also address the veterans. After that, Jacob said, they will hold a safety meeting and begin flying model planes from four eras: WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the Gulf War. During the event there will also be a aerobatics show in the back for civilians to enjoy.
There will also be food for the first 250 veterans in attendance.
“Jacob’s Andouille Sausage Company donated the meat, and RC Club fellows are gonna cook it. We’ll also have a couple hamburgers and hot dogs for guys who don’t like that. We’re gonna have the Young Marines serve the veterans,” said Jacob.
Though they’ve only been putting on the airplane show for three years, it has been immensely successful. Jacobs said that approximately 500 people turned out for last year’s show. He said that 37 pilots will fly about 46 aircrafts this year, and there won’t be any waiting around for the planes to liftoff.
Most importantly, Jacob said he and the organizers began putting on the show in order to keep what the veterans have done for their country at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
“The thing about is is, everyone does Veterans Day on Nov. 11, and then they roll up their stuff and ‘see you next year.’ Well, we figured, let’s do something in between then and next year to remind people what veterans did for this country,” he said.
The program will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bleakley Field, a designated flying area near the halfway point of the Spillway Bottom Road. There is no admission cost.